No one argues that there is something to think about during maternity leave, besides work. And perhaps vacation is not the right word here. But life after maternity leave will come sooner or later. Job expert Yulia Shubina, who runs a blog about freelancing and is preparing for maternity leave herself, tells how to remain a professional when you are surrounded by potties and diapers.
Tip 1: Rest first
Working mothers are mostly very concerned about how to remain in demand. I will not say that your child has only one childhood, and there can be only one child. Because in the triangle “me – child – career” mothers most often forget about the first link of the chain. Therefore, to begin with, take a break from work, get distracted from it. Switch to your new status. Be sure to give yourself time to recover after childbirth and do not rush the horses.
Take a break after the baby is born. You may need a couple of months, maybe more. And only when everything settles down and you get your bearings in your new role, you can start thinking about professional support. Or even about remote work.
The banal Maslow pyramid will help you determine whether you are ready to return to the profession. Or the answer to the question “What would I do if I didn’t need to earn money?” If the answer is: “Slept / Ate / Stared at the wall”, then it’s too early for you. You are not meeting your basic needs for food and rest.
If you constantly feel tired and apathetic, go to a therapist and ask what tests he recommends. Don’t be shy about spending an hour of your time and a little money on a session with a psychologist (by the way, this can be done via Skype).
When the internal resource is more or less replenished, you can move on to the next point.
Tip 2: Follow industry news
Reading professional news will not only help you stay up to date with what’s going on in the industry, but also help you avoid getting bogged down in the topic of potties and nipples, which you’ll have to delve into anyway. Even if you just scroll through your feed between feedings, it will be useful. At least more useful than watching three episodes of The Handmaid’s Tale in a row.
The Easiest (and Free) Ways to Stay Informed
Read industry sites
For example, HR-Portal about personnel management, Habr about the IT sphere, Cossa or Marketer about marketing and communications, Bankovskoe Obozreniye or the news section on Banki.ru about the banking sphere.
Follow experts you find interesting on Instagram*
Yes, now it is a legal way to get stuck in social networks. Signs of a real (and not exclusively Instagram) expert:
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have a specialized education and/or confirmed work experience in the field that the expert is writing about;
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more than three years of experience, or at least one year if the field is completely new;
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experience working with large and/or well-known companies in your field is desirable;
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as a bonus: awards, prizes and other achievements.
Tip 3: Improve your skills
There are many portals and websites where you can study, including for free.
Free classes can be found, for example, here:
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Geekbrains
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Skillbox
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Netology
Tip 4: Expand and deepen your competencies
Growth is possible not only upwards, but also sideways. Therefore, try to gain skills that will help you not only stay at the same level, but also become more in demand on the market and even get more profitable offers.
For example, if you are an SMM copywriter, try to study the basic principles of visuals for social networks and targeting. If you succeed, you will have a good base to look for a job with a higher salary after maternity leave. And if you add to this the skills of working with a team and delegation, you can apply for the position of head of the SMM department.
Tip 5: Consider career guidance
Many mothers leave their old profession after maternity leave. Their view of the world changes. They want to do what they really enjoy. Or, on the contrary, they realize: “I don’t want to sit at work for days anymore. Now my child is waiting for me at home.”
Start with career guidance tests. Choose options from large companies in the field of career, education and statistics. For example, there is the HeadHunter test , developed jointly with the Testing and Development Center at Moscow State University (paid, costs 550 rubles), free tests from the Foxford online school or the Ucheba.ru portal .
In addition, you can seek help from a psychologist-coach. In this case, the result will be not only a list of professions, but also the elaboration of your problems in this area. For example, the unwillingness to take responsibility for the important decision “who to become.” Or limiting beliefs that prevent you from making money on your hobby, which in your environment is considered unprofitable or unprestigious.
Tip 6: Work
Try taking on small freelance jobs or getting a part-time job.
There are two possible scenarios here:
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Transfer your profession online and find a suitable vacancy with a remote schedule. This is not possible for all specialties, but for many. For example: sales manager, client manager, bank specialist, travel agent, recruiter, teacher, copywriter, designer, marketer.
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Find a new direction and start developing in it. From scratch (or not quite).
For the second option, I would recommend starting with a regular search on sites and publics with vacancies. Perhaps the requirements in vacancies for newcomers in the chosen field are not as extensive as you think.
By the way, don’t think that if you decide to start in a new profession, all your previous experience before maternity leave can be thrown away. Analyze what skills and knowledge you have and how they can be applied in a new field. For example, if you worked as a sales consultant, you are probably very stress-resistant. Be sure to indicate this when you get a new job.